Odd ball chickens

[Kris10fromKS]

I recently bought a coop from a friend and then a week later purchased 8 established hens, they are about 1 1/2 yrs old. I am new to chickens and have so many questions. So to start with I was getting approx 2 eggs a day between the 8 hens. That lasted a week and then we barely get eggs and there are feathers everywhere. Ok - molting, got it. I switched their feed last week to a high protein game bird feed (per the feed stores recommendation), have added oyster shells in a separate dish, and keep water fresh. They also have a small strand of lights to give them light for 14 hours. First question: How long does this molting season last and when should I expect eggs again?

My hens all sleep inside of their nesting boxes, poop everywhere, do all the things EXCEPT lay eggs. I've read comments that this is not normal behavior and chickens typically sleep on their roost. I have a roost, but mine definitely cuddle together in the house area with the boxes. Second question: How do I change this behavior? and do I actually need to?

I lock the hens up in their coop when it gets dark, they go to their house of course, but during the day they get to "free range" inside a fenced in area. I would like to let them out of the fenced in area so that they can wander further and have access to more grass etc. Third question: Is that a good idea? We live in the country, I have farm cats that I don't think will mess with them, and my dogs are in their own fenced in area. Of course there is other wildlife. Will they stay close to home or will they run away and then I'll never have eggs?

If you read this far, thank you!

 

[M-H-Fielding]

I recently bought a coop from a friend and then a week later purchased 8 established hens, they are about 1 1/2 yrs old. I am new to chickens and have so many questions. So to start with I was getting approx 2 eggs a day between the 8 hens. That lasted a week and then we barely get eggs and there are feathers everywhere. Ok - molting, got it. I switched their feed last week to a high protein game bird feed (per the feed stores recommendation), have added oyster shells in a separate dish, and keep water fresh. They also have a small strand of lights to give them light for 14 hours. First question: How long does this molting season last and when should I expect eggs again?

My hens all sleep inside of their nesting boxes, poop everywhere, do all the things EXCEPT lay eggs. I've read comments that this is not normal behavior and chickens typically sleep on their roost. I have a roost, but mine definitely cuddle together in the house area with the boxes. Second question: How do I change this behavior? and do I actually need to?

I lock the hens up in their coop when it gets dark, they go to their house of course, but during the day they get to "free range" inside a fenced in area. I would like to let them out of the fenced in area so that they can wander further and have access to more grass etc. Third question: Is that a good idea? We live in the country, I have farm cats that I don't think will mess with them, and my dogs are in their own fenced in area. Of course there is other wildlife. Will they stay close to home or will they run away and then I'll never have eggs?

If you read this far, thank you!

I'm having the same thing with my hens! I don't know what is wrong! I think it is just a weird weather year.

 

[rosemarythyme]

1. Molt can last a few weeks, but afterwards many hens do not lay again until next spring, or may lay at reduced rates. I never get eggs through winter once a bird molts.

2. To get them to roost, block off nests at night and manually place them on the roost bars. No, you don't have to make them roost, but I do not allow my chickens to sleep in the nest boxes. They poop a lot at night, so all that accumulated poop is what your eggs will be sitting in the next day. Do you really plan on cleaning nests daily? That's extra work and a lot of bedding you'll be burning through.

3. Free ranging is up to you. Once they are homed to your coop and run (can take several weeks) they should return to the coop at night without prompting.

Downside with free ranging is you may end up with eggs anywhere in the free range area, and of course predator risk. Upside is they won't be bored and will eat a varied diet of whatever they can forage.

 

[aart]

I switched their feed last week to a high protein game bird feed (per the feed stores recommendation),

How high of protein, chickens are not game birds and probably should not have more than ~20% protein.

They also have a small strand of lights to give them light for 14 hours.

Are these lights on a timer and bright enough over the roost to read a newspaper(you, not the birds ha!)? Lighting can be tricky, it must be consistent.

 

[Kris10fromKS]

1. Molt can last a few weeks, but afterwards many hens do not lay again until next spring, or may lay at reduced rates. I never get eggs through winter once a bird molts.

2. To get them to roost, block off nests at night and manually place them on the roost bars. No, you don't have to make them roost, but I do not allow my chickens to sleep in the nest boxes. They poop a lot at night, so all that accumulated poop is what your eggs will be sitting in the next day. Do you really plan on cleaning nests daily? That's extra work and a lot of bedding you'll be burning through.

3. Free ranging is up to you. Once they are homed to your coop and run (can take several weeks) they should return to the coop at night without prompting.

Downside with free ranging is you may end up with eggs anywhere in the free range area, and of course predator risk. Upside is they won't be bored and will eat a varied diet of whatever they can forage.

Thank you! And I definitely don't want to clean the coop out as much I've had to. The tender hearted side of me feels bad locking them out of the coop and only in the run at night with the lower temperatures and dark. I take it they will be fine?

 

[Kris10fromKS]

How high of protein, chickens are not game birds and probably should not have more than ~20% protein.


Are these lights on a timer and bright enough over the roost to read a newspaper(you, not the birds ha!)? Lighting can be tricky, it must be consistent.

The protein is 21% I believe. This is what was recommended to me to use just through their molt and then to switch back to a laying feed hopefully in December. I think that's what he called it, game feed, but I could be wrong. It's made by ADM Pen Pals.

I'll have to take a book out with me and see if I can read under the lights!

 

[aart]

The protein is 21% I believe. This is what was recommended to me to use just through their molt and then to switch back to a laying feed hopefully in December. I think that's what he called it, game feed, but I could be wrong. It's made by ADM Pen Pals.

I'll have to take a book out with me and see if I can read under the lights!

That should be fine. Some game bird feed is 30%.

I feed 20% to all birds all the time, a bit of daily scratch grains too, and have oyster shell in a separate feeder for the active layers.

 

[Chickstarrs]

Thank you! And I definitely don't want to clean the coop out as much I've had to. The tender hearted side of me feels bad locking them out of the coop and only in the run at night with the lower temperatures and dark. I take it they will be fine?

Is there no roost in the coop? They should probably be in the coop at night for warmth and safety, but not in the nest boxes. Roosts in the coop should be higher than the nest boxes.

 

[Kris10fromKS]

Is there no roost in the coop? They should probably be in the coop at night for warmth and safety, but not in the nest boxes. Roosts in the coop should be higher than the nest boxes.

there is a roost inside their run. Chickens are very new to me so I’m still learning the terminology. I noticed this morning that it is the same level as the nesting boxes. This is what we have for them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

First question: How long does this molting season last and when should I expect eggs again?

Some chickens are fast molters, some are slow molters. That's controlled by genetics and is based on how fast the feathers fall out, not how fast they grow back. Some may be over the molt in a little over a month, some may take four months. Some in between. That's not based on what you feed them, that's based on how fast they fall out.

When to expect eggs? I wish there were an easy answer. Many of my hens start laying when they finish the molt. I do not extend lights and that still can be any time in the winter. Others wait until the longer days of spring. I had a broody hen raising chicks that molted while raising her chicks in late summer. She started laying in October when the others started molting and continued laying all through the winter. When to expect eggs? When you see them. Could be any time.

Second question: How do I change this behavior? and do I actually need to?

If you don't want poopy eggs,, you do need to change that behavior. Chickens tend to like to sleep in the highest spot available. Are your roosts higher than the nests? Can they get up to the roosts and back down? Are the roosts where a cold breeze hits them at night? Photos of the inside of your coop showing nests and roosts might be helpful.

Third question: Is that a good idea?

I'd get the roosting problem straightened out first. Once they see that coop as where they are supposed to sleep they should desperately want to return there to sleep at night. I can't give you guarantees as to chicken behaviors but I'd expect your biggest issue with them returning at night would be that they get trapped behind a fence and are so desperate to get back to the coop at dark that they forget to go to the gate to get back in. I've had that happen a couple of times, they totally forget about the gate.







We live in the country, I have farm cats that I don't think will mess with them, and my dogs are in their own fenced in area. Of course there is other wildlife. Will they stay close to home or will they run away and then I'll never have eggs?

If you read this far, thank you!
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